Method for installing a flooring surface on a concrete slab or deck base coated with a sealing material

ABSTRACT

A method for installing a flooring surface on a concrete slab or deck base coated with a sealing material to seal the surface and limit the passage of moisture therethrough comprising pouring concrete to create a poured concrete slab or deck base or obtaining a pre-cast concrete slab or deck base, allowing the concrete slab or deck base to cure, cleaning the cured or partially cured concrete slab or deck base, testing the cured or partially cured concrete slab or deck base to determine at least one of its pH, relative humidity, and vapor emission level, applying a layer of a sealing material , curing the sealing material to form the coated, cured or partially cured concrete slab or deck base, and installing an athletic, commercial, or residential flooring surface on the coated, cured or partially cured concrete slab or deck base.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority from provisional application Ser. No. 61/831,378, filed Jun. 5, 2013.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a method for installing a flooring surface on a concrete slab or deck base coated with a sealing material to limit the passage of moisture therethrough.

Concrete slab or deck bases are porous. There are many micro-capillaries within a concrete slab that allow for penetration of moisture and hydrostatic pressure through the concrete slab or deck base to a flooring surface placed on the concrete slab. This moisture and hydrostatic pressure penetration are major causes of damage and ruination of flooring in the athletics, commercial, and residential flooring industries, costing over a billion dollars annually.

Concrete slab or deck bases exhibit great vulnerability with respect to relative humidity, pH, hydrostatic pressure, and efflorescence. Further, it is often not feasible to wait for a concrete slab base to reach optimal conditions with to relative humidity, pH, hydrostatic pressure, and efflorescence before a wood, polyurethane, urethane, polyvinylchloride, vinyl, carpet or padded flooring surface is installed above the concrete slab base, depending on project specifications and completion timelines.

Suspended wood flooring surfaces used in the athletics industry warps, bends, bows, and/or rots when moisture and hydrostatic pressure penetrate through the concrete slab or deck base and are absorbed by the wood, resulting in a failure of the suspended wood flooring surface. When wood flooring surfaces used in the athletics industry are directly adhered to the concrete slab versus suspended, the wood flooring surface often delaminates from the concrete slab base, causing buckling of the wood flooring surface. This creates a safety concern for athletes and others engaged in activities on the flooring surface. As the moisture continues to penetrate the directly adhered wood flooring surface, it too will ultimately warp, bend, bow, and/or rot, resulting in a failure of the flooring surface. Both suspended and directly adhered wood flooring surfaces experience buckling, softening, and/or loosening of the wood from extended moisture penetration. These flooring surface failures are not only costly to repair, they are also potentially the cause of serious injury to those who step, plant, and/or push off of areas of failure.

Suspended and directly adhered flooring surfaces used in the athletics industry manufactured of polyurethane, urethane, polyvinylchloride, or vinyl delaminate and lift as moisture and hydrostatic pressure penetrate through the concrete slab base and build beneath the surface. This buildup of moisture and pressure creates loose areas and bubbles that require costly repair and require full flooring surface replacement as the condition worsens.

Moisture and hydrostatic pressure penetration also cause problems in commercial and residential flooring industries. The issues encountered with respect to wood athletic flooring surfaces discussed above are also present in commercial and residential settings. Further, other commonly used commercial and residential flooring surfaces, such as vinyl composition tile, experience delamination and/or loosening of tiles as moisture and hydrostatic pressure penetrate through the concrete slab and build below the tile flooring surface. Costly repairs are necessary in these instances, and eventual replacement of the tile flooring surface may be needed as the moisture penetration issues worsen. Injury is also a very real possibility in these contexts, as those walking or running over failing areas may suffer falls and related injuries, such as breaks and sprains.

Residential and commercial carpet flooring surfaces experience rippling, rot and/or ruination of the carpet and padding flooring surfaces where moisture penetrates through the concrete slab and builds below the carpet and pad. In addition to cost concerns, in residential and commercial office settings, there are health concerns related to mold growth below and within the pad and carpet. In these instances, one may not only encounter significant cost of replacement, but also significant expenses relating to mold abatement and healthcare.

The flooring industry has traditionally attempted to prevent moisture and hydrostatic pressure penetration from a concrete slab via application of a urethane, vinyl, or epoxy formulated product to the concrete slab base. Methods incorporating these products have potentially negative health and environmental impacts, are very costly to implement, do not exhibit optimal performance, and have significant drawbacks in terms of application and usage.

Urethane, vinyl, and epoxy formulated products have varying levels of VOC's that are harmful to both individuals and the environment. Most urethane and epoxy coatings are two component systems cross-linked with isocyanate, a suspect carcinogen. The solvents required to clean tools used to apply these products are also high in VOC's. Further, liquid and solid waste containing urethane, vinyl, and epoxy formulated products often requires disposal in dedicated landfills with accompanying disposal fees. These urethane, vinyl, and epoxy products also have a limited pot life, or working time, and greater waste is generated when these products are selected to prevent moisture and hydrostatic pressure penetration from a concrete slab or deck base.

Additionally, urethane, vinyl, and epoxy formulated products are very expensive and the cleaning solvents required for tools used to apply these products can be equally expensive. Unit costs for methods incorporating these products are 50% to 80% more expensive than those used in the method proposed herein. There may also be additional costs incurred in connection with disposal of these products as discussed above.

Further, urethane, vinyl, and epoxy formulated products are very brittle. As the concrete base slab cracks from expansion, contraction, and ground movement, these products crack, thereby creating a route for moisture and hydrostatic pressure penetration and loss of the concrete slab or deck base seal. In instances where the flooring surface is anchored to the concrete, the brittle nature of these products may result in compromise to the seal around the anchor as the anchor is installed. This creates a route in the hundreds or more anchor locations of the flooring surface for penetration of moisture and hydrostatic pressure.

In addition, urethane, vinyl, and epoxy formulated products have a short pot-life, or time of workability, often of less than thirty minutes. Once the urethane, vinyl and epoxy formulated products' components are mixed, they have to be immediately applied or they become waste. Thus, it is important that these types of coatings not be used.

Another process that has been used to attempt to prevent moisture and hydrostatic pressure penetration through a concrete slab is utilization of a vapor barrier beneath the concrete slab and above the stone base onto which the concrete slab is poured or affixed. In one embodiment this is a six-mil plastic sheeting. However, this type of plastic vapor barrier is not always successful in preventing moisture and hydrostatic pressure penetration from entering the poured concrete. In addition, this plastic sheeting does not prevent the moisture and the concrete from penetrating out of the concrete through the capillaries and negatively interacting the flooring surface, either directly or not directly adhered to the concrete.

Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to disclose a method for installing a flooring surface on a concrete slab or deck base coated with a sealing material, whether that concrete is poured in place or positioned at the site in precast sections, to limit the passage of moisture therethrough which addresses the problems of the prior art and traditional methods.

These and other objects can be obtained by the method for applying a sealing system between a flooring surface and a concrete slab or deck base to seal the concrete surface and thereby limit the passage of moisture therethrough that is disclosed in the present invention. This method can address the issues with prior art systems whether or not a vapor barrier is positioned beneath the concrete base.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is a method for installing a flooring surface on a concrete slab or deck base coated with a sealing material to seal the concrete surface and limit the passage of moisture therethrough comprising

pouring concrete to create a poured concrete slab or deck base or obtaining a pre-cast concrete slab or deck base,

allowing the concrete slab or deck base to cure or partially cure and thereby generate a cured or partially cured concrete slab or deck base,

cleaning said cured or partially cured concrete slab or deck base to remove dust and debris,

testing said cured or partially cured concrete slab or deck base to determine one or more of its pH, relative humidity, and vapor emission level,

within five to 35 days or so of the pouring of said concrete slab or deck base or five to 35 days or so of the manufacture or positioning of said pre-cast concrete slab or deck base, applying a layer of a sealing material on said concrete slab or deck base,

curing said sealing material on said cured or partially cured concrete slab or deck base to form a coated cured or partially cured concrete slab or deck base, and

installing a flooring surface on said coated and sealed cured or partially cured concrete slab or deck base.

Where the testing step reveals, for example, that the pH of the cured or partially cured poured concrete slab or deck base or cured or partially cured pre-cast concrete slab or deck base is less than 9, the relative humidity is less than 80%, and the vapor emission level is determined to be lower than the maximum level set by the manufacturer of the flooring system to be applied, the method proceeds as stated above.

However, in a further preferred embodiment, where after the testing step or steps set forth above, the pH of said cured or partially cured concrete slab or deck base is determined to be higher than 9, the relative humidity of said cured or partially cured concrete slab or deck base is determined to be higher than 80%, or the vapor emission level of said cured or partially cured concrete slab or deck base is determined to be higher than the maximum set by the manufacturer of the flooring surface to be applied, a pre-coat is applied to said cured or partially cured concrete slab or deck base and allowed to cure further prior to proceeding with the application of said sealing material.

In yet another embodiment, should the manufacturer's installation instructions for the selected flooring surface require the application of a flooring adhesive prior to the installation of the selected flooring surface, said flooring adhesive should be applied atop said sealing material prior to the installation of the selected flooring surface.

In a further embodiment, after the curing of said sealing material, a second application of said sealing material may be applied atop the first application of said sealing material prior to the application of the adhesive, if being used, or the installation of the flooring surface.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The invention is a method for installing a flooring surface on a concrete slab or deck base coated with a sealing material to seal the surface and limit the passage of moisture therethrough.

The first step in or one embodiment of the covered method is to pour a concrete slab or deck base to create a poured concrete slab or deck base or to obtain a pre-cast concrete slab or deck base. If desired, a conventional vapor barrier may be positioned under the concrete slab to assist in limiting the passage of moisture into and through the concrete.

The poured concrete slab or deck base or pre-cast concrete slab or deck base is then allowed to begin curing to generate a cured or partially cured concrete slab or deck base.

The next step is to clean the cured or partially cured concrete slab or deck base to remove dust or debris. This can be effectively done using either water or mineral spirits by rinsing, washing, or scrubbing by hand or other implement, vacuuming with mechanical equipment, or packing or wiping the cured or partially cured concrete slab or deck base with towels or similar items.

In the next step of one embodiment of the covered method, after the cured or partially cured concrete slab or deck base has been cleaned adequately to remove dust and debris, the cured or partially cured concrete slab or deck base is tested to determine one or all of its pH, relative humidity, and vapor emission level. The pH can be effectively tested using standard pH testing equipment, and the pH of the slab or deck base should be no higher than 9. The relative humidity can be effectively tested using standard relative humidity testing equipment, and should be less than 80%. The vapor emission level can be effectively tested using a standard Calcium Chloride Vapor Emission test, and must be determined to be lower than the maximum level set by the manufacturer of the flooring system to be applied.

If, after the testing steps above are applied, the cured or partially cured concrete slab or deck base displays acceptable pH, relative humidity, and vapor emission levels, then within five to thirty-five days or so of pouring the cured poured concrete slab or deck base, manufacture of the pre-cast concrete slab or deck base or placement of the pre-cast slab or deck base in position, up to about 100 mils (0.1 in, 2.54 mm) or so of a layer of a sealing material is applied to the cured or partially cured concrete slab or deck base. One acceptable sealing material is a synthetic modified rubber polymer consisting of an anionic emulsion of carboxy modified styrene butadiene polymer, inert pigments including, but not limited to, post-consumer grade recycled glass, hydrophobic silica in mineral oil, hydrophobically modified polyether, stabilized 5-chloro-2-methyl-4-isothiazolin-3-one with 2-methyl-4-isothiazolin-3-one, and 1,2-benzisothiazolin-3-one. Another example of an acceptable polymeric material is an acrylic latex polymer. The application of the sealing material to the cured or partially cured concrete slab or deck base can be effectively done using notched trowels, smooth trowels, sprayers, rollers, notched squeegees, smooth squeegees, brooms or brushes.

The sealing material is then allowed to cure on the cured or partially cured concrete slab or deck base, optimally for 16 to 36 hours or so, to forma coated and sealed cured or partially cured concrete slab or deck base.

After the sealing material has cured for 16 to 36 hours or so, one of several different types of flooring surfaces may be installed on the coated cured or partially cured concrete slab or deck base. These flooring surfaces can be non-directly adhered or attached to said concrete slab or deck base and can be selected from a mechanically fastened wood athletic flooring surface; anchored wood athletic flooring surface; suspended floating wood athletic flooring surface; mixed at site, poured in place, pre-manufactured styrene butadiene rubber or urethane base pad and pour, full pour or pre-manufactured rubber, polyurethane, urethane, polyvinylchloride, or vinyl athletic flooring surface; mechanically fastened floating wood residential or commercial flooring surface; anchored wood residential or commercial flooring surface; suspended floating wood residential or commercial flooring surface; laminate residential or commercial flooring surface; or commercial or residential carpet and padding flooring surfaces.

In some instances, after conducting the testing step of the covered method set forth above, the cured or partially cured concrete slab or deck base may exhibit less than optimal pH, relative humidity or vapor emission in that the pH of the cured or partially cured concrete slab or deck base will be higher than 9, the relative humidity will be higher than 80%, or the vapor emission level will be higher than the maximum set by the manufacturer of the flooring surface to be applied. In these instances, in a further embodiment, prior to the application of the sealing material, it is necessary to first apply a pre-coat to the cured or partially cured concrete slab or deck base. One preferred example of a pre-coat is a styrenated modified acrylic emulsion formulated with lithium, calcium or potassium silicate emulsion, water borne epoxy coating, urethane coating, polyurethane coating, epoxy ester coating, or epoxy-acrylic hybrid coating. This pre-coat is then cured for about 16 to 36 hours prior to proceeding with the application of the sealing material, as described above.

In other instances, the manufacturer of the selected flooring surface may require that a flooring adhesive be applied prior to the installation of the flooring surface. Therefore, in yet another embodiment, within one to 10 days or so, after application of the sealing material, an adhesive material may be applied atop the sealing material prior to the installation of the selected flooring surface.

In a further embodiment, within 16 to 36 hours or so after the curing of the sealing material, it may be necessary to apply a second application of the sealing material atop the first application of the sealing material prior to the application of the adhesive, if being used, for installation of the flooring surface.

The methods set forth herein have several advantages over traditional methods. The products selected for use in the method are VOC free, have a greater than 30% recycled content formulation, and may be disposed in standard trash receptacles for ultimate disposal in standard landfills. The methods are environmentally safe in that the products selected for use do not contain isocyanates, are water-based, and are non-toxic. Further, clean-up of tools and persons only requires soap and water versus harsh solvents. Additionally, potential negative health impacts from mold and mildew are reduced or totally absent as the method confers mold and mildew development resistance. As compared with traditional methods, the costs are also significantly lower including the costs of the products themselves, their virtually unlimited pot life, the method's solvent-free cleanup, and the lack of disposal fees.

Further, the methods incorporate products that are not brittle in contrast to those employed using traditional methods. Rather, the products disclosed are flexible over a wide range of temperatures and retain this flexibility for decades to provide significant concrete slab or deck base crack bridging performance. As a result, these methods generate a concrete slab or deck base that remains sealed even after a crack develops. In instances of anchored flooring surfaces, the method provides superior sealing around the flooring anchors, including common anchors made of steel, iron, aluminum or other metals. The products selected for use easily adhere to common anchor materials, such as stainless steel and plastic, warm slightly due to friction as the anchor is driven into the concrete slab or deck base and then cool to create a seal unsurpassed by other methods used in the flooring industry. The longevity of installed flooring systems is also improved with use of the covered methods as the products used maintain their performance for periods of time vastly exceeding those used with traditional methods. Moreover, the methods contribute to the creation of a stronger concrete slab or deck base by trapping moisture in the concrete slab or deck base. Once the product is applied, between five to thirty-five days or so after the concrete is poured, evaporation of moisture out of the concrete is essentially eliminated.

An additional advantage of the covered methods is ease of application and use. It is not necessary to engage in the time consuming step of mixing various components prior to application as the products selected for use in the methods may be applied directly to the concrete slab or deck base from the product container.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that while particular forms of the invention have been illustrated, various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. 

1. A method for installing a flooring surface on a concrete slab or deck base coated with a sealing material to seal the surface and limit the passage of moisture therethrough comprising pouring concrete to create a poured concrete slab or deck base or obtaining a pre-cast concrete slab or deck base, allowing the concrete slab or deck base to cure and thereby generate a cured or partially cured concrete slab or deck base, cleaning said cured or partially cured concrete slab or deck base to remove dust and debris, testing said cured or partially cured concrete slab or deck base to determine one or more of its pH, relative humidity, and vapor emission level, within five to 35 days or so of the pouring of said concrete slab or deck base or five to 35 days or so of the manufacture or positioning of said cured or partially cured pre-cast concrete slab or deck base, applying a layer of the sealing material on said concrete slab or deck base, curing said sealing material on said cured or partially cured concrete slab or deck base to form a coated cured or partially cured concrete slab or deck base, and installing a flooring surface on said coated cured or partially cured concrete slab or deck base.
 2. A method for installing a flooring surface on a concrete slab or deck base coated with a sealing material to seal the surface and limit the passage of moisture therethrough comprising pouring concrete to create a poured concrete slab or deck base or obtaining a pre-cast concrete slab or deck base, allowing the concrete slab or deck base to cure and thereby generate a cured or partially cured concrete slab or deck base, cleaning said cured or partially cured concrete slab or deck base to remove dust and debris, testing said cured or partially cured concrete slab or deck base to determine one or more of its pH, relative humidity, and vapor emission level, applying a pre-coat on said cured or partially cured concrete slab or deck base when one or more of the pH, relative humidity, and vapor emission level is determined to fall outside of pre-determined conditions, curing said pre-coat, within five to 35 days or so of the pouring of said concrete slab or deck base or five to 35 days or so of the manufacture or positioning of said cured or partially cured pre-cast concrete slab or deck base, applying a layer of the sealing material on said concrete slab or deck base, curing said sealing material on said cured or partially cured concrete slab base to form a coated cured or partially cured concrete slab base, and installing a flooring surface on said coated cured or partially cured concrete slab or deck base.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the sealing material comprises a synthetic modified rubber polymer, inert pigments and a hydrophobic silica.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the polymeric material comprises an acrylic latex polymer.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the flooring surface is selected from the group consisting of a fastened wood surface, an anchored wood surface, a suspended wood surface, a styrene butadiene rubber or urethane base pad or pour and a polymeric surface.
 6. The method of claim 2, wherein the pre-coat is selected from the group consisting of a modified acrylic emulsion, a water borne epoxy coating, a urethane coating, a polyurethane coating, an epoxy ester coating and an epoxy-acrylic hybrid coating.
 7. The method of claim 2, wherein a second application of the sealing material is placed atop the first application of the sealing material.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the sealing material is VOC free and has a greater than 30% recycled content formulation.
 9. The method of claim 2, wherein the sealing material comprises a synthetic modified rubber polymer, inert pigments and a hydrophobic silica.
 10. The method of claim 2, wherein the polymeric material comprises an acrylic latex polymer.
 11. The method of claim 2, wherein the flooring surface is selected from the group consisting of a fastened wood surface, an anchored wood surface, a suspended wood surface, a styrene butadiene rubber or urethane base pad or pour and a polymeric surface.
 12. The method of claim 2, wherein the sealing material is VOC free and has a greater than 30% recycled content formulation. 